Various cosmetic compositions have been proposed in the prior art to function as skin cleansers or scrubbing agents. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,573 discloses a body care composition as a facial cleanser which contains colloidal silica particles in an aqueous suspension. Another example of a facial scrub is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,782, which discloses a cosmetic composition containing a high-silica zeolite, for removing retention products from a skin surface. While many cosmetic preparations or compositions include inorganic materials for cleansing purposes, a demand exists for all-organic compositions function as cleansers for skin scrubbing agents or masks.
Some cosmetic formulations uses organic agents such as walnut hulls, almond meal and corn meal.
Drawbacks with these prior art compositions include the use of water as the base material. Water has no therapeutic effect and its inclusion in these prior art compositions merely dilutes the active components.
Compositions containing scrubbing agents can be abrasive on the skin, causing redness or throbbing after use. Compositions containing food products such as walnut hulls require the addition of preservatives to prevent the food products from spoiling over time. The preservatives contribute to the cost of the product and further dilute the active components.
In view of the drawbacks noted above, a need exists for improved cosmetic scrubbing compositions. The present invention solves this need by providing an oil-based cosmetic composition containing insoluble vitamin C particles therein, for particular use as a skin scrubbing agent or mask.
Vitamin C has been used as an active ingredient for various kinds of cosmetics in view of its nutritive enriching effect, fair skin producing effect and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,521 discloses an emulsion cosmetic that contains, preferably between 1% and 10% by weight of the total weight of the cosmetic, vitamin C. U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,521 does not teach the use of vitamin C particles as an insoluble component of a cosmetic preparation or a composition whereby the particles function as a scrubbing or cleansing agent.